What is Jessup Moot Court?
The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court (Jessup Moot Court for short) is the most renowned, oldest and largest moot court in the world with participants from roughly 700 universities in 100 countries. The participating teams simulate a court hearing before the International Court of Justice based in The Hague.
In Germany, a national preliminary decision ('National Rounds') is held annually at different universities to select the German representatives for the 'International Rounds' in Washington, DC. The Moot Court is held in English.
The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court has been taking place for 60 years and is the world's oldest moot court. The Jessup was founded in 1959 by students at Harvard University. Today it is organized by the International Law Students Association (ILSA).
The competition is named after Philip Caryl Jessup (1897-1986), a former American expert on international law who served as a judge at the International Court of Justice.
Judges in the national and international elimination rounds are international law experts from academia and practice. In addition, sitting judges of the ICJ usually take part in the hearings in both the national and international elimination rounds.
The moot court is organised as follows:
- The pleading phase (usually approx. September - January) begins with the publication of the case ('Compromis') by ILSA and ends with the simultaneous submission of two legal pleadings (one plaintiff's and one defendant's pleading of 9,500 words each). During this time, the four participants meet almost daily at a conference table specially reserved for them at the Chair of Public International Law and Public Law to work together on the pleadings. The team is supported by coaches.
- The pleadings are then converted into pleadings in the oral phase (approx. January - March) and refined on the basis of countless internal mock hearings in front of former participants, research assistants etc. as judges. The procedural rules of the International Court of Justice are applied.
- The national preliminary rounds (normally at the beginning of March), in which around twenty German universities take part, determines which teams qualify for the international rounds. In a group phase, each team plays twice as plaintiff and twice as defendant against a group opponent. The top eight teams 'negotiate' for victory in knockout rounds.
- The top three teams finally travel to Washington, D.C. for the international rounds (approx. at the beginning of April), where around 100 teams will determine a winner in the same procedure.
In recent years, teams had to deal with mostly very topical cases, among others, the right to privacy and international mass surveillance as well as the wiretapping of nationals; international law in cyberspace; the use of an autonomous underwater drone for surveillance purposes and problems of nuclear disarmament. The 2014/15 case was e. g. closely modelled on the Crimean conflict between Russia and Ukraine which was indeed brought before the ICJ.
In the summer semester of each year, a tutorial on participation in the Jessup Moot Court and other moot courts is usually offered, in which small cases are already discussed and negotiated.
The selection of the Munich team members usually takes place in July of each year. Corresponding information on the application can be found here.